It’s also about where you go and who you meet. I actually live in a small town where everyone knows everyone else (I recently moved back to my hometown) and already I’ve been invited to some leads/marketing meetings from local business owners and sales managers from local golf courses. I have a fundraising and development background so I think this comes naturally to me because development was all about building relationships.

I agree–don’t sell yourself short and you are your own best marketing person. You need to sell yourself and your services–they won’t sell themselves.

It’s really all about networking and meeting people and not being afraid to promote yourself (even if that person isn’t interested, they may have a friend who knows someone who may need your services).

Good luck.

I agree – sometimes we become afraid of the “selling” part for fear of being pushy. You don’t have to be pushy to sell something, just couragous and opportunistic. Part of taking it to the next level is taking the “from the blimp” perspective.

You might see (like Chris saw) something you hadn’t expected. And sometimes, this perspective might come from someone outside of you

One trick is to say something like, “If any of your friends or associates might be in need of my services, have them contact me and tell me you referred them. I’ll give them a XX% discount off my normal rates.”

Then, if anyone does come to you as a result of a referral, be sure to send something to your existing client – at the very least a thank you card, or even small gifts of foods or candies. Do this even if the referral doesn’t work out.